Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Photo booths, flash moms and lots of friends. That’s how I will describe
this year’s Step’s Of Hope put on by the Autism Society of Minnesota. Each year
vendors and sponsors get together at Southdale mall to put on a bit of a party
of sorts for the autism community and their family members.

As
Mrs. Minnesota International I had the privilege of placing medals around the
necks of kids that ran what was called the “flash race.” It was a very fast
walk around lower level shops. Naturally, some of those fast walks morphed into
trots, which lead to full out sprinting for first place! Trying to abide by
mall rules in those situations is not the easiest, but watching those kids
faces as they crossed the finish line was priceless.As we strolled around taking silly
pictures in the photo booth, and spinning wheels to win prizes, we ran into a
friend from long ago. When my son looked up and saw one of his first therapists
from when he was just a toddler he yelled, “Christine!” and a gigantic smile
spread across his face. Christine was one of the first therapists we hired as a
Clinical Supervisor at the therapy center I co-founded calledThe Lazarus Project when Ben was just a
toddler. She worked with Benjamin for years. She now has her own company and was
one of the vendors. With precious people like Christine, not much changes in
your heart for those who became like family in order to help your child reach
their full potential in every area of life.

Toward the end of the event, my kids and I stood to hear who would win
the prize drawings, when suddenly we heard the sounds of dance music start, and
our attention immediately went to a group of young teenagers who had taken over
the middle of the rotunda area to begin to perform in a flash mob dance! They
had choreographed their own dance moves and selected the music. Their moves
were original and some of them looked pretty difficult to perform! The crowd
was very generous with applause and praise for these kids who had clearly
worked very hard to gift us with a little fun that day.

As
we walked around to meet and greet all the superheroes (Flash Gordon, Storm and
the Power Rangers) and princess we noticed in the sea of faces, the warm smiles
of friends of Ben’s from The MAC School. It was a reminder to me and my family
how connected we truly all are. There’s a real sense of comradery and support.

I
applaud the Autism Society of Minnesota for their diligent ongoing work in the
Autism community. They support and help provide services and resources for tens
of thousands of families like mine each year. They are one of the most active
branches of the Autism Society of America in the entire country, and the staff
and volunteers are all heart. We are truly grateful, and plan to be at Steps of
Hope in upcoming years!

Monday, January 29, 2018

It’s hard to put into words the experience
of being crowned a title-holder, a.k.a. A “Queen” and someone who’s been
embraced by this amazing sisterhood of accomplished women. To say it’s an
“honor” is the understatement of the year!

I’ve had the opportunity to meet and
befriend so many strong, powerful women including former and current title
holders that continue to carry the torch forward in life and make a difference
for our communities in any way they can. So, when I was introduced to the new
website PagentLife.net, and asked to be a featured title-holder and a
spokesperson for the site I was blown away. What this means is that my platform
of Understanding the Puzzle of Autism would be broadcast around the world in
dozens of other languages! What an incredible opportunity!

The idea behind the website, is to create
a community for women and girls in pageants to access former and current title
holders and other experts in the industry for input, insights, coaching, guidance,
advice, feature articles and resources that would connect them with everything
they need to be successful to win a crown. But MUCH more important than
“winning a crown” is actually BEING a titleholder. Remember, there are lots of
variables that go into winning a crown, but to BE a titleholder, a “queen”
means giving your time, energy and talents to being a public servant. It’s not
just a “job” for a year. It’s a lifestyle. It means making appearances, and
going above and beyond the call of duty to help raise awareness for and support
the causes you believe in and are passionate about.

As a spokesperson for this new resource in
pageantry, I am most excited about being able to connect with others that
aspire to take their dream, no matter how young or old, no matter how much
experience (or lack thereof) and step forward into something that will push
them, challenge them, and grow them in ways they would have never imagined as
it’s done for me. I am living proof that you don’t have to be an experienced
“pageant patti” to win a pageant - to win your FIRST pageant in fact! Honestly,
I had never even BEEN to a pageant before I entered into and won Mrs. Minnesota
International. But here’s what I had...I had a vision, I had an amazing
platform that I have LIVED for 20 years, and I was willing to learn from a
coach and those in the sisterhood that were willing to gift me with their time
and invaluable insights.

What
more do you need?

I am grateful to get the chance to share
my platform with the world through this new venue, and I am excited to connect
with those who are looking to join the sisterhood!

Thursday, January 25, 2018

When I was
asked to “say something” for the brand new MAC School video, of course I said
“yes!” right away. But, this time things would be different. Instead of
speaking on behalf of my partner organization as a title holder, I would be
speaking on behalf of The Minnesota Autism Center School as a parent to
describe my son’s experience attending school there, and how our lives have
changed as a result.

The day before the video shoot, I was
thinking about all the new things my son Benjamin has learned, and all the
progress he’s made in his language skills just in the last year or so. As I
made a mental list of the recent accomplishments, from cooking some of his
meals on his own, to coming up to me in the kitchen just to tell me he loves
me...a little ping notification came across my phone. It was an email from
Ben’s lead therapist Joey at the MAC School. He just wanted to write me a quick
note to tell me that Ben is truly “a star student.” He said Ben works hard
every day to improve his skills. He also said that when he was asked that day
what the students did the night before, Ben raised his hand, and when called on
said with perfect complete sentences, “I was with mom, I ate pepperoni pizza,
and we played cards.” When asked what game he played, he said, “We played
garbage, and I WON!”

My son is 20 years old. It’s amazing how
most of us parents take little things for granted. But, to hear this come from
my son, who just two years ago was not yet formulating full sentences is
nothing short of amazing. It gives me new hope! There was a day when my son was
a toddler and I was told he would not learn past the age of 7. The “experts”
were wrong. Thank goodness! My son continues to learn new skills each and every
month and I do believe...no...I KNOW his potential is unlimited.

For parents of children with special
needs, our biggest challenge can sometimes be to remain creative and hopeful in
what often seems to be a “long” and tiring “process.” We hope and pray for
rewards. We hope we’re making right decisions. We wonder if we could
be...should be doing “more.” Having been on this journey now for many years not
only with my son but with our whole family, I am inspired again. I have a bit
of a “second wind” of hope as we turn the corner of adulthood with my son and
continue to watch to see who this amazing and unique individual truly is.
There’s more hope than ever before for families in need of tools and resources
and my prayer is that my son Ben’s story will inspire families to keep moving
forward, and keep expecting miracles...even if they’re little ones here and
there...they add up.

I’ll be the first to admit...I’ve been a
fair-weather Minnesota Vikings Fan. They’ve come so close many times to making
it to playoffs only to allow errors to cost a game. So, when I was asked to
appear at a Vikings Fan Club gathering I was excited, not so much to watch the
game, but more-so to meet the interesting people I knew would be there. And, as
Mrs. Minnesota International, I knew I was going to get a chance to speak at
halftime about my platform Understanding The Puzzle of Autism.

In an unexpected turn of events, I not
only had a blast cheering and screaming for the Vikings, but I learned the Skol
Vikings song AND was able to connect with some parents of children with Autism
including Talance Sawyer, who was once a defensive end for the Minnesota
Vikings!

As we cheered and chanted, the Vikings
played their best, although that particular day we did not taste victory (of
course that was 1 of only 3 losses in their pre-playoff season). It didn’t
matter to me that day. As I took the microphone and announced how grateful I
was to be there, and how welcomed I felt by the fan club, and began telling the
story of my son Benjamin, the dull hum in the event center fell silent.

I watched people’s faces change, I saw
heads nod in agreement as I spoke about the skyrocketing numbers of children
diagnosed these days, and the unique “special abilities” that are often
overlooked in the Autism community. As I finished and said one final “thank
you” to the crowd, I was met with a circle of interested parents who wanted to
share their own stories of the children and in some cases grandchildren that
they loved and cared for that also have a diagnosis of Autism.

As I got to know former Vikings player
Talance Sawyer and as he described his son and their journey with the
diagnosis, I was most impressed with the various types of interventions they’ve
already tried and are working on with his 8 year old son. He knew about
everything from special diets to biomedical intervention to Hyperbaric Oxygen
Therapy! I was also very proud to learn that he and his wife are considering
moving back to Minnesota because of the extensive and innovative therapeutic
schools Minnesota now has. It also gave me the chance to brag about the amazing
work my partner organization The Minnesota Autism Center Schools are doing to
help thousands of kids around the state get the schooling and therapy they need
to live full, productive and happy lives.